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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
Lifestyle
Ollia Horton

Nigerian brothers bring parallels of fatherhood, nationhood to the screen

Akinola Davies Jr Davies Jr Nigeria Lagos Wale the Cannes Film Festival
A scene from the film "My Father's Shadow" directed by Nigeria's Akinola Davies Junior, in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival, 2025. © The British Film Institute

Lagos, Nigeria, June 1993. Political upheaval grips the country as it votes in its first general election since the 1983 military coup. It’s against this backdrop that Akinola Davies Jr set his award-winning debut film My Father’s Shadow. Alongside hopes for a new nation are the trials and tribulations of an ordinary father and his sons – a story of love, loss and absence.

The first Nigerian film ever to be selected in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, My Father's Shadow made a splash when it premiered in the Un Certain Regard section in 2025 – going on to pick up a special mention in the Camera d’Or debut category.

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